1. Technical Field
This invention relates generally to winding strands of material and more particularly to an apparatus and method for using a multi-armed apparatus to quickly and efficiently wind skeins of yarn for knitting.
2. Background Art
Many individuals have found that knitting is a relaxing and enjoyable hobby. Not only can a person create something with their hands, a hand-knitted item may become a valuable family keepsake. Knitting is very popular in the United States and around the world and can be viewed as a profession as well as a hobby. Hand-knitted items are typically durable and very much sought after.
While knitters typically need only a few basic supplies to begin knitting, i.e. needles and yarn, most knitters have found that it is very useful to have a device or apparatus to wind yarn on, prior to knitting. By winding the strands onto an apparatus, a "skein" or neat bundle of yarn can be formed. This makes the yarn easier to work with when knitting. This is especially true for those knitters who also choose to "spin" or make their own yarn from processed wool. As the wool is spun into yarn, it is formed into long, slender strands and these strands, if simply piled on the floor, may become a jumbled mess. In order to keep the yarn from becoming tangled, the yarn is typically wound or coiled onto an apparatus with spindles or arms to form neat, tidy loops of yarn, which are then ready to use. There are a number of patented devices which can be used to wind and store yarn for this purpose. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,397,022 issued to Townsend, illustrates a yarn winding implement which allows yarn to be wound into balls which can then be used for knitting. This apparatus is essentially a cross-shaped configuration with the two cross members being removably attached to each other. While yarn balls are very popular, skeins in the form of a continuous loop are preferred by many knitters.
U.S. Pat. No. 607,674 is a multi-fingered collapsible device with a webbing material between the fingers. The fingers are connected at one end by a pivot. This allows the fingers to be spread out and clamped in various configurations, as desired, for winding yarn. The adjustable nature of the device allows many different sizes of yarn skeins to be wound. While useful, this device does not allow a knitter to make elongated continuous loop skeins, but produces a coil of yarn, similar to winding the yarn on a person's hand.
Other, multi-armed strand winding implements are also known. However, these implements are usually bulky and inconvenient to work with for a variety of reasons. They often have one or more spindle-type arms fixed at right angles to another arm, which will often lead to accidental breakage if the implement is transported frequently. In addition, some strand winding implements are assembled with clamps, nuts and bolts, or screws. While these implements can be disassembled, the process requires tools and an undesirable amount of time. Once disassembled, these yarn-winding implements must be reassembled, once again using tools as part of the process. Many of the multi-armed yarn-winding implements also have knobs on the ends of the arms, making yarn removal a difficult task.
While all of the known yarn-winding implements are somewhat useful, they are not readily adaptable for certain uses and situations. Specifically, most previously known multi-armed yarn-winding devices are somewhat bulky and do not easily lend themselves to disassembly, transport, or storage. This is especially inconvenient for knitters who travel frequently or who wish to carry a limited amount of baggage with them from place to place. There are no truly portable, easy to disassemble and store, multi-armed yarn-winding implements available today. Without a multi-armed apparatus and method for more efficiently winding yarn and other stranded materials, knitters will continue to be limited by the less-useful implements presently available.